Advantages of Windows 7 32 bit vs 64 bit

dfer

Hi,

I've got a dell studio 1737 laptop - spec intel core duo T9400 , 4 Gig Ram running vista 32 bit at the moment but will be upgrading to windows 7 this week and was wondering if my system will handle/benifit from 64bit?


I use this soley for audio production (Pro tools), i don't play games or use it as my media center.


My question is -

Would there be any benifit in running 64 bit vs 32 bit?

Is my system powerful enough to run at 64 bit?

If i partition my drive "lets say Vista running 32 bit and window 7 64 bit" will i have any problems?



Thanks,

Dfer

PogMoThoin

Only advantage of 64bit is that it can use more than ~3.25GB of ram

partyatmygaff

If you love your softsynths and software effects on protools and have more than 4gb of ram then go ahead with 64bit.

Big Lar

dfer wrote: »

Would there be any benefit in running 64 bit vs 32 bit?

Nope,

There is very little software out there for 64bit, MS office and Adobe CS4 only come in 32bit versions.

Drivers seem to be an issue also.

Oh and I corrected your spelling in the quote - You had benefit spelt wrong

Solitaire

A 64-bit OS allows the OS to manage and allocate more than 4GB total memory (that includes all device caches and discrete graphics memory, so a 32-bit OS can only manage ~3.25GB of system RAM on a good day). It can also run 64-bit programs, which can individually utilize over 4GB of total memory. Needless to say, single apps that need more than 4GB of anything are scarce; the main advantage of a 64-bit OS is to manage over 2GB of system RAM on a gaming system with large quantities of dedicated VRAM eating into the addressable memory range and thus reducing the amount of RAM available. After all, if you had a 32-bit OS and had a HD4870X2 the 2GB of GDDR5 on it, combined with device caches, would leave the OS with well under 2GB. And while 4GB is plenty and 3GB decent, ~1.75GB is a bit tight for more demanding applications, much less those and the junk you have running in the background!

The downside with 64-bit OS are driver vulnerabilities, and the neccessity for secure, digitally-signed drivers to make said OS happy. They can be a pain in the bum at times with obscure/old hardware or if you're trying to driver-hack an Audigy into being an X-Fi...

requiem1

if you plan on running a virtual pc with linux then 64bit os's are handy

godskitchen

Big Lar wrote: »

Nope,

There is very little software out there for 64bit, MS office and Adobe CS4 only come in 32bit versions.

Drivers seem to be an issue also.

Oh and I corrected your spelling in the quote - You had benefit spelt wrong

Office 2010 comes in 64bit

I made the switch from Vista32 to Vista64 about a year ago. I have never had any problems with hardware, all you have to do is make sure the kit you buy is 64bit compatible. I know this is not easy if you have old gear.

I am now using Windows7 64bit without any problems, all my gear is around 1 - 2 years old and all works perfectly.

You will see a performance increase, I did. Just try it for a while, if you dont like it then go back to 32. You could also dual boot your PC to have both.

AlmightyCushion

Big Lar wrote: »

Nope,

There is very little software out there for 64bit, MS office and Adobe CS4 only come in 32bit versions.

Drivers seem to be an issue also.

Oh and I corrected your spelling in the quote - You had benefit spelt wrong

Not sure about office but I'm pretty certain photoshop cs4 comes in 64 bit. Either way the 32bit versions will still work fine on windows 64 bit. Drivers aren't that big a deal either any more. Most things have 64bit drivers now.

Rezident

Solitaire wrote: »

After all, if you had a 32-bit OS and had a HD4870X2 the 2GB of GDDR5 on it, combined with device caches, would leave the OS with well under 2GB.

I don't think all the VRAM always maps across to memory because the GPU only needs to reserve some MMIO space and aperture, so that the memory on it can be accessed from the system. Normally around 200-600Mb depending on hardware, its very rare for it to map 1:1 with the amount of VRAM on the card.

I'm still on Vista 32-bit, 4Gb ram (3.25 effective). I got a 4890 2Gb card and I can still use over 3 gigs of ram in games. Still haven't fully got my head around it but the 2 gigs of GDDR5 on the card definitely doesn't take up 2 gigs of memory. Luckily!:)

Bob_Harris

Solitaire wrote: »

The downside with 64-bit OS are driver vulnerabilities, and the neccessity for secure, digitally-signed drivers to make said OS happy. They can be a pain in the bum at times with obscure/old hardware or if you're trying to driver-hack an Audigy into being an X-Fi...

You can turn off enforcement of driver signing if you want.

Run > GPEdit.msc

User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Driver Install

Edit "Code signing for device drivers" and check "Disabled"

Done. May or may not be risky.

Boycotting Vista I never knew about the snipping tool which can come in handy.

cL0h

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Only advantage of 64bit is that it can use more than ~3.25GB of ram

That's not strictly true but given that there is no 64 bit version of most applications e.g Photoshop it is the only practical difference for consumer users.

Effluo

64 bit is the wave of the future....

Been running 64 bit since Feb and had no issues except with and old printer and with a netgear wifi adapter

kaimera

Effluo wrote: »

64 bit is the wave of the future....

Been running 64 bit since Feb and had no issues except with and old printer and with a netgear wifi adapter

128-bit actually if MS follow thru with it for Win8.

Was a url online somewhere a few days ago

PogMoThoin

Effluo wrote: »

64 bit is the wave of the future....

Been running 64 bit since Feb and had no issues except with and old printer and with a netgear wifi adapter

Nope, not for long